One of the things I love about bad weather is how quickly a scene can change. This was from my first day at this camp site – it had rained for most of the day, but the sun started to peak through as I arrived at camp. Bouncing between rain, clouds, and rays of sunlight, this range looked completely different every few minutes. I could park at one spot, spend half an hour shooting, then head somewhere nearby for something completely different. It was great!
After taking photos by the water for a while, I decided to head uphill to look for some fall colour, but I found a bit more than I was looking for. Shortly after finding these lovely full bushes, the clouds opened up over the mountain range and let just a bit of light through. The light began reflecting between the peaks in the valley, making it almost seem like there was a secret source of light coming from within the mountains.
At first I didn’t really understand what was going on – it seemed strange to see reflected light under a mostly cloudy landscape. Once I figured it out, I realized it wouldn’t last and rushed to capture the image while fiddling with composition and trying to find a wind-less moment. These bushes were blowing all over so it took a few minutes to find my moment, but thankfully it all worked out in the end. Really weird conditions, and something I’ll never forget, to be sure